Officer Spotlight
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Jessica Liang
Enrichment Program Manager
Class of 2019
Lowell High School
How do you feel about being made an officer as a freshman?
I feel really proud that I started volunteering with Heart In Motion early. I’m glad that I joined the internship program while I was an 8th grader because it allowed me to be able to spend more time with HIM. I never expected that I would reach to my current position so quickly. I wrote a letter to my future self last year, in the 8th grade and I told myself that my goal was to become a specialist or a coordinator by the end of 9th grade. I would have never predicted that I would come so far, so fast. Whenever I got a new position, I freaked out from excitement, then I felt a little bit nervous. I was scared of messing up because I wanted everything to be perfect. I would spend a lot of time on my first tasks because I wasn’t quite adjusted, so it was a little more difficult. But very quickly, everything was coming together and I started to feel comfortable because the people in HIM genuinely care about each other and are willing to help. They check up on me and ask how I am doing, both online and in-person. Their personalities are the real reason I stick with HIM. If they just left me on my own and just told me to do work, I would have left. In HIM, that is not the case. There is a big handful of officers who I can ask for help and guidance. Everyone is really accepting and that makes my experience with Leadership worth it. My first time preparing a membership report took about 4 hours, but by the end of the term, it only took 1 hour. Even though I felt nervous and unprepared in the beginning, I had a lot of support and I could eventually do tasks with ease. When people praise me for being an officer and climbing the Leadership ladder so quickly, it makes me feel proud of myself and grateful to everyone who helped me reach to where I am now.
What are your hobbies?
I like to play instruments, listen to K-pop, volunteer, edit videos, talk to people and dance. I just do whatever I can to keep myself busy.
How did Heart In Motion impact your life?
Heart In Motion supplied me with many leadership, job, and life skills. It taught me countless of things. I learned how to use google docs, spreadsheets, excel, and other programs, but that wasn’t just it. Heart In Motion really prepares you in many important fields. I learned to communicate with people from improving my customer service skills at events and working with people online. Many people would say that I’m too “nice” and I give in to others. My program director noticed this and taught me to be more assertive and make people listen to you. She taught me how to lead, how to get others to listen to me, and how to run a division. Heart In Motion exposed me to everything and created countless opportunities. Whenever I was being interviewed for a job or position, I would bring up HIM and mention how I learned to step up, take initiative, manage my time, communicate with others, problem solve, or most importantly, how I grew.
Why did you join Leadership?
I joined leadership because of my sister. I was in the 8th grade and she had recommended me to apply for the internship program. If it wasn’t for her, I would not have even considered to apply for any internship. I would not have volunteered very often and I would not have spent my time at home very productively. This advantage of starting early really benefited me. I hope that other people also start volunteering as soon as possible.